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I saw Black Swan for the first time this weekend. My two cents: Black Swan is a beautiful and tragic visual narrative. However, there is something to be said about a work of art which tells the symbolic meaning of the entire story without words, without movement. I give you,MC Escher‘s Circle Limit IV and a closer look with his work titled Angels and Demons. If you focus on the white angels will appear; conversely, if you focus on the black, you will perceive demons. Paradoxically, they define one another.

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Leo Tolstoy exemplifies why literary fiction is sometimes referred to as Language Arts in his novel Anna Karenina. The language that Tolstoy finessed caused me to pause amidst my fluid motion of unpacking while listening to Anna Karenina during a specific passage in Book 1 Chapter 9 to fully absorb the perfection. Below is the aforementioned excerpt, with the perfect paragraph bolded:

At four o’clock, conscious of his throbbing heart, Levin stepped out of a hired sledge at the Zoological Gardens, and turned along the path to the frozen mounds and the skating ground, knowing that he would certainly find her there, as he had seen the Shtcherbatskys’ carriage at the entrance.

It was a bright, frosty day. Rows of carriages, sledges, drivers, and policemen were standing in the approach. Crowds of well-dressed people, with hats bright in the sun, swarmed about the entrance and along the well-swept little paths between the little houses adorned with carving in the Russian style. The old curly birches of the gardens, all their twigs laden with snow, looked as though freshly decked in sacred vestments.

He walked along the path towards the skating-ground, and kept saying to himself—”You mustn’t be excited, you must be calm. What’s the matter with you? What do you want? Be quiet, stupid,” he conjured his heart. And the more he tried to compose himself, the more breathless he found himself. An acquaintance met him and called him by his name, but Levin did not even recognize him. He went towards the mounds, whence came the clank of the chains of sledges as they slipped down or were dragged up, the rumble of the sliding sledges, and the sounds of merry voices. He walked on a few steps, and the skating-ground lay open before his eyes, and at once, amidst all the skaters, he knew her.

He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at the opposite end of the ground. There was apparently nothing striking either in her dress or her attitude. But for Levin she was as easy to find in that crowd as a rose among nettles. Everything was made bright by her. She was the smile that shed light on all round her. “Is it possible I can go over there on the ice, go up to her?” he thought. The place where she stood seemed to him a holy shrine, unapproachable, and there was one moment when he was almost retreating, so overwhelmed was he with terror. He had to make an effort to master himself, and to remind himself that people of all sorts were moving about her, and that he too might come there to skate. He walked down, for a long while avoiding looking at her as at the sun, but seeing her, as one does the sun, without looking.

Dream Journey

Dreams are limited by the dreamer’s conscious experiences. Senses inform consciousness during the waking day; consciousness informs senses during dreams.

A sensation, that is, a fully integrated internal inclination, a feeling, fills in the blank slate of logic like a white canvas oozing bold colors.

Third morning of sickness within the past week. Today I leaned out the side of the city bus, relieved my sickness, and sat back down inside the bus. Another time, I woke up a fingernail past sunrise to do reike and yoga with a friend before he left for break. We spent most of the time talking. There, in my front yard before 9 am, I started dry heaving nothing, nothing, something– definitely not food but I definitely was sick.

I had my fingerprints scanned today, all ten. Apparently, I only have 9 fingerprints. one refuses to register. The livescan man digitally re-scanned it time and again until, finally, I am under the impression (not punny) that we just settled.

9 fingerprints. 3 mornings of sickness. A sensation. A reality? No, but the appearance of a potential.

The fact that a producer can dabble with stems of a song and layer it with basslines and electronic melodies to create a new experience that sets it apart from the original track is quite exhilarating. Having said that, not all songs should be remixed. There are songs whose melodies are so profound to its musical core, and the emotional core of the listener seeking comfort in them, that changing the original formula by the slightest usually results in utter shit. Knowing this, producer Das Kepital has impressed us with the way he subtly rerub’ed one of our favorite songs from 2008.

To celebrate thanksgiving, here at The Music Ninja we want to thank you so much for your daily support and while we can’t invite you’all for an actual dinner, we have a warm and delight rerub of Bon Iver‘s most recognizable tune ‘Skinny Love’ for you to feast on.

Sometimes showing the world who you really are is not easy, and sometimes the world may not respond as you had hoped! It’s helpful to take a look at the differences and similarities between the attitudes, impressions and images you project and the person who resides at the core of your being.

With your Sun in Gemini your inquisitive manner and quick wit may be your trademarks. You need variety, and whether in relationships, career opportunities or creative endeavors will prefer to create a life which gives you plenty of options. You may radiate an air of intelligence, and most enjoy people and situations which stimulate your mind. The old truth, “you are what you think,” is especially clear to you, and you have the ability to shift your consciousness and create a whole new realm of life experience by first altering your mental focus.

Your Ascendant is the face you present to the world, and shows how others see you.

Your Ascendant, or rising sign, is Aquarius. You may be quite avant-garde and can be a trendsetter. It’s possible that your disdain for the traditional and affinity for the unusual can leave an impression of eccentricity. You can carry it off, however, because you’re not meant to follow the cookie-cutter patterns: you’re creating one of your own! Freedom is highly important to you, and your need for spontaneity enhances your ability to find the truly unique elements life has to offer.

Uranus, the planetary energy associated with your rising sign, is in Capricorn in your chart. Although you may want to be seen as an individual, you may approach the creation of your image through more traditional means. You value your freedom and may not be willing to risk doing absurd things that might compromise your ability to maintain your independence.

With your Sun in square aspect to your Ascendant, you may sometimes feel that everyone is always on the defensive with you. You may even have learned to avoid asserting yourself just to avoid the pain of confrontation. But there are times when you do need to take a stand or when you need things to go your way. Learning to ask for assistance is quite different from demanding it, and you’ll gain greater support from others if everyone feels empowered.

I’ve never met him but I knew he was your dad despite a mismatch to the physical description you’ve portrayed him as.

his personhood. it was so much like yours.

There was a washing machine inside of a greenhouse. The washing machines were shaped like limousine shaped machines set up inside of a dirt pit dug for irrigation.

I watched a local woman load her laundry with curious eyes wide and focused attenuation: two full moons. There was a one water function that sprayed a jet setting into what would be the overhead hood and carried of the mobile. The Woman threw her sheets and towels into this turbine as soap leap out and the steam of the hot water filled with room, and I could breathe again. Inside of the mobile, the woman threw her family’s clothing. Fascinating. Your father pulled me aside and asked why I was watching. I told him I was curious because I’d never seen laundry done like this and I wanted to learn how it works. That’s when he kissed my cheek.

And at that point, we left for the wedding.

There was an old television with a cd player. The wedding music had broken. My friend the groom pulled out a cd I made for him over the summer and frisbee tossed it towards me. I out it in. The music began. Ice Cube, today was a good day. And the wedding began.

The Dalai Lama recently visited Stanford University and spoke on the centrality of compassion for the future of human society. In this talk he addresses the importance of educating all people about practicing compassion and using the mind to understand the views of others. He talks about his interest in science and how neuroscience is connecting with religion on the importance of mind in relation to holistic health. The Dalai Lama feels that cultivating compassion in the mind should no longer be confined to religion, but needs to be taught in the secular arena and backed up with scientific research. At the end of the talk he answers a number of questions from the audience.

Reality is created by sound, tones, harmonics.
The spheres are the harmonics on the Tree of Life.
They are the wheels of synchronicity that create the illusion of linear time.

Musica Universalis or Music of the Spheres is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the sun, moon, and planets – as a form of musica – the medieval Latin name for music. This music is not audible, but simply a mathematical concept.